Hand-planter.



PATENTED FEB. 25', 1908.

I. E.-GRIPFETH. HAND PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16, 1907 FRANCIS E. GRIFFEIH, OF ATHENS, GEORGIA.

HAND-PLANTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Feb. 25, 1908.

Application filed July 15. 1907- Serial No. 383.882.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS E. GRIFFETH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Athens, in the county of Clarke and State of Georgia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Hand-Planters; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains" to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in hand planters for planting peas,corn and other small seed.

It has for its object to provide a simple, cheap and convenient deviceof this nature which will insure the dropping of the seed regularly.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinationsof parts hereinafter described and specified in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of myinvention: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the planter in use. Fig. 2 isan enlarged central longitudinal section of the lower part of the deviceshowing the plunger down. Fig. 3 is a simi lar view showing the plungerraised so as to compress the spring. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectionalview taken at right angles to that in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 5 is asectional view on the line :vm of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a broken detailface view of a part of the plunger showing the adjustable plate forregulating the amount of seed fed at each operation.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 1 designates the rod orstaff which carries the handle 2. The lower end of said rod isbifurcated or forked at 3 forming two prongs 4 and 5. At the base ofsaid bifurcation a socket 6 is cut farther up into the rod. The plunger7 is fitted between said prongs and has a reduced extension 8 arrangedin the socket 6. A coiled spring 9 is placed in said socket above saidextension whereby the plunger is normally held extended. Said extension8 is recessed at 10 and through said recess is passed a bolt or pin 11which is adapted to engage the ends of said recess and thus form a stopto limit the downward movement of the plunger.

The hopper 12 is arranged on the front of the rod or staff. The seed areadapted to pass from the base of said hopper into a perforation 13 inthe front prong 4 of the fork of said rod. From thence said seed passinto the pocket 14 in the plunger when said pocket is arranged oppositesaid perforation 13 which is the case when said plunger is raised to thelimit of its upward movement. When the plunger passes down to the lowestextremity of its movement, said pocket registers with the slot 15 in theend of the rear prong 5 of the fork of said rod. Said slot is guarded bya-ferrule- 16 secured to the lower end of the prong 4 whereby the seedis guided downward so that it is delivered directly behind the pointedend 17 of the plunger.

In use the rod or staff is carried in the hand like a cane and theprojecting pointed end of the plunger is thrust into the ground on anincline where it is desired to plant some seed. The pressure exerted onthe handle to force the plunger into the ground retracts said plungeragainst the coiled spring to the limit of its upward movement. Thisbrings the pocket in said plunger in line with the perforation in thefront prong 4 so that seed are fed into said pocket. The plunger and rodare held in this position while they are brought to an upright or nearlyan upright position leaving an opening in the ground behind the point ofsaid plunger. Then the pressure on the handle is removed allowing therod to rise until the pocket in the plunger registers with the slot inthe end of the rear prong 5 whereby the seed are dropped into theopening in the ground behind the plun-. ger. The rod is then raisedremoving the plunger from the ground and allowing the earth, which hasbeen piled up in front of said plunger, as shown in Fig. 1, to fall backand cover or partially cover the seed. If necessary, the seed may bemore thoroughly covered by a stroke with the end of the planter or bytreading over the hole with one foot.

The amount of seed fed at each operation of the planter is regulated. bymeans of an adjustable plate 19 which has a bent concave portion 20extending into the pocket 14 in the plunger. The flat portion 21. ofsaid plate is provided with a slot 22 through which a screw 23 is passedby means of which said plate is secured in the desired position. It willbe observed from Fig. 3, that when the plunger is raised so that thespring is compressed to the limit, the bottom edge of the pocket 14 issomewhat below the bottom edge of the perforation 13 in the front prong4. This allows the adjustable plate 19 to slide up and p'artiallycloseor reduce the size of the ocket without the bent portion 20 of saidplate passing the bottom edge of said perforation 13, thus preventingseed from getting under said bent portion of said plate and leaving noobstruction to the seed falling into the pocket.

It will be noted that the placing of the seed hopper on the front of theplanter is a reat advantage over-placing it on the back, for in thelatter case the seed may have to be forced upward into the passage whichcarries them to the discharge opening, whereas in my construction theseed follow their course to the discharge slot by force of gravity. Thebase of the hopper, the perforation 1.3 and the pocket 14 are allpreferably arranged on an incline to aid in thedelivery of the seed.

I claim:

1. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plun ger mounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod andcommunicating with a perforation in one of the prongs of said rod, theother-prong having a discharge slot in its end, said plunger providedwith a perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in one prong to the discharge slot in the other as saidplunger is re ciprocated.

2; A hand planter consisting'of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plun ger mounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured on the front ofsaid rod and communieating with a perforation in the front prong of saidrod, the rear fork having a slot in its end, said plunger provided witha perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in said front prong to the discharge slot in the rear prongas said plunger is reciprocated. a

3. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plunger mounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured on the front ofsaid rod and communicating with a-rearwardly and downwardly inclinedperforation in the front prong of said rod, the rear-fork havin a slotin its end, said plunger provided wit a rearwardly and downwardlyinclined perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in said front prong to the discharge slot in the rear prongas said plunger is reciprocated.

4. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end,aspring pressed plunger mountedto reciprocate in said bifurcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod andcommunicating with a perforation in one of the prongs of said rod, theother prong having a discharge slot in its end, said plunger providedwith a perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in one prong to the discharge slot in the other as saidplunger is reciprocated, and means to limit the movement of said plungerso that when it is at the upper end of its stroke the pocket will be inline with the perforation communicating with the hopper and when at thelower end of its stroke said pocket will register with the dischargeslot in the other prong.

5. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plunger mounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod andcommunicating with a perforation in one of the prongs of said rod, theother prong having a discharge slot in its end, said plunger providedwith a perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in one prong to the disa charge slot in the other as saidplunger is reciprocated, said plunger being normally held in itsprojected position with the pocket therein arranged opposite saiddischarge slot, said pocket adapted to register with the perforation inthe prong of said rod leading from the hopper when the plunger ispressed inward.

6. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plunger mounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod andcommunicating with a, perforation in one of the prongs of said rod, theother prong having a discharge slot in its end, said plunger providedwith a perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in one prong to the'discharge slot in the other as saidplunger is reciprocated, and an adjustable plate secured to said plungerand having a concave portion extending into the pocket therein andhaving its face conforming to the wall of said pocket to regulate theamount of seed fed at each operation.

7. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plunger mounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod andcommunicating with a perforation in one of the prongs of said rod, theother'prong having a discharge slot in its end, said plunger providedwith a perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in one prong to the discharge slot in the other as saidplunger is reciprocated, an adjustable plate secured to said plunger andhaving a concave portion extending into the pocket therein and havingits face conforming to the wall of said pocket to regulate the amount ofseed fed at each operation, and means to limit the movement of saidplunger so that at its uppermost position the lower edge of said pocketwill be arranged below the lower edge of the perforation communicatingwith the hopper for the purpose specified.

8. Ahand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plunger mounted to reciprocate in said bii'urcation andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod andcommunicating with a perforation in one of the prongs of said rod, theother prong having a discharge slot in its end, said plunger providedwith a perforation forming a pocket, adapted to convey seed from theperforation in one prong to the discharge slot in the other as saidplunger is reciprocated, and a ferrule arranged around the dischargeslot for the purpose specified.

9. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end andhaving an operating handle at its upper end, a spring pressed plungermounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation, and having its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form an opening therein toreceive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod and communicating with aperforation in one of the prongs of said rod, the other prong having adischarge slot in its end, said plunger provided with a perforationforming a pocket adapted to convey seed from the perforation in oneprong to the discharge slot in the other as said plunger isreciprocated.

10. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end andhaving an operating handle at its upper end, a spring pressed plungermounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation, said plunger terminatingwithin said rod and having its end projecting from said rod to engagethe ground and form an opening therein to receive the seed, a hoppersecured to said rod and communicating with a perforation in one of theprongs of said rod, the other prong having a discharge slot in its end,said plunger provided with a perforation forming a pocket adapted toconvey seed from the perforation in one prong to the discharge slot inthe other as said plunger is reciprocated.

11. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end, aspring pressed plunger mounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation, andhaving its end projecting from said rod to engage the ground and form anopening therein to receive the seed, a hopper secured on the front ofsaid rod and communicating with a rearwardly and downwardly inclinedperforation in the front prong of said rod, the rear fork having a slotin its end, said plunger provided with a rearwardly and downwardlyinclined perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in said front prong to the discharge slot in the rear prongas said plunger is reciprocated, said plunger being normally held in itsprojected position with the pocket therein arranged opposite saiddischarge slot, said pocket adapted to register with the perforation inthe prong of said rod leading from the hopper when the plunger ispressed inward.

12. A hand planter consisting of a rod bifurcated at its lower end andhaving an operating handle at its upper end, a spring pressed plungermounted to reciprocate in said bifurcation, and having its endprojecting from said rod to engage the ground and form an openingtherein to receive the seed, a hopper secured to said rod andcommunicating with a perforation in one of the prongs of said rod, theother prong having a discharge slot in its end, said plunger providedwith a perforation forming a pocket adapted to convey seed from theperforation in one prong to the discharge slot in the other as saidplunger is reciprocated, said plunger being normally held in itsprojected position with the pocket therein arranged opposite saiddischarge slot, said pocket adapted to register with the perforation inthe prong of said rod leading from the hopper when the plunger ispressed inward.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

FRANCIS E. GRIFFETH. l/Vitnesses:

C. A. LAMBERT,

J. H. GRIFFETH, Jr.

